WHAT OF THE HARVEST ? 253 



district on the men demanding the Norfolk conditions. 

 But after several weeks the Norfolk terms were conceded 

 by the farmers. 



Naturally the 25s. did not evoke much enthusiasm 

 amongst labourers (except in those rural backwaters where 

 wages were much lower), especially when it dawned upon 

 the farm workers that the 255. was to include all " allow- 

 ances/' even the rent of farm-tied cottages. But there was 

 one ray of hope : a Wages Board was to be set up with 

 equal representation for farmers and workers. District 

 Committees were to be established under it and a higher 

 wage than 25s. could be fixed if they had the right men on 

 these District Committees and on the Wages Board to fight 

 for them. 



This meant combination, and here came the supreme 

 opportunity of the trade union organiser. 



Thus, during the spring and summer of 1917 an exceed- 

 ingly active campaign was carried on by the Workers' 

 Union as well as by the N.A.L.U. The leaders of the Workers' 

 Union, Mr. John Beard, who organised agricultural labourers 

 in the midlands in the first year of the Union's existence, 

 and Mr. George Dallas, had the foresight to seize the oppor- 

 tunity which the formation of the District Wages Committees 

 in the forthcoming Corn Production Act gave to trade 

 unionism amongst farm workers. 



They, and the organisers acting under them, realised 

 that the new Act gave a tremendous impetus to trade 

 union organisation. They visited remote villages in the 

 southern, eastern, midland, and south-western counties 

 and spread the news to men, many of whom had even 

 regarded trade unions with aversion, that if they would only 

 organise and secure adequate representation on these Dis- 

 trict Wages Committees they could forge a powerful lever 

 to raise wages and shorten hours. These organisers 

 worked day and night and put an extraordinary amount of 

 energy into their w : ork, infusing enthusiasm amongst middle- 

 aged and even old men who glimpsed the dawn of a new day. 

 With rising prices the seed did not fall on stony ground. 



The war had taken its toll of young and active organisers, 



